Age of the Primes Onyx Prime

Thusfar, Age of the Primes looks like another toyline that I'll skip almost entirely, with exceptions being those that are either holdovers from Legacy (more likely their 'Retro G1' remixes) or figures like this one, which fits about as well into TransFormers as did the live action movie Dinobots or TLK Megatron.

I have to confess that my knowledge of the Primes is pretty much non-existent, both in terms of who they are and how/why they entered the lore... But, if I had to guess, it was probably Furman (and I'd be right). The idea of thirteen Primes representing aspects of Cybertronian physiology or society isn't inherently bad, per se, just... superfluous... And their introduction into TransFormers media really highlights how astonishingly easy it is for a moderately proficient writer to define authority figures and get a whole community of people to accept them as gods in a religion.

Nevertheless, we're currently at a point in the Age of the Primes line where there's only a couple more of The Thirteen to go - Quintus and Amalgamous, both of whom sound interesting in theory, but look terrible as toys - and I'm highly unlikely to add them to my collection... Let's see if Onyx Prime can help us ascertain why that is...

Seventeenth Anniversary

Cynics in my audience might have expected that getting back into full-time employment back in January of this year might dispel the sense of ennui I've had for the last few years of TransFormers... but, if anything, it's made it worse. Sure, I have some disposable income now, but the ever-increasing prices and ever-decreasing quality of the merchandise leaves me largely without any compelling reason to spend my money on Hasbro's mainstream output. Not to say I haven't bought anything since last September, but you'll see what I mean when I get to the list.

So, without wanting to get into spoilers, here's this year's Dishonourable Mentions:

Trying Out Another New Webshop - AKA Not Another Unboxing IX

Although when I say 'new', I mean only that it's new to me - Show.Z Store have been around for ages, I've just never tried ordering from them before. However, they listed Unique Toys R-09 Red Destroyer before my usual online retailers - even those others also based in China - and, with the fear of missing out uncommonly strong on this figure, I preordered him at the earliest opportunity, back in mid-August.

Preordering can be a bit of a gamble at the best of times, but this one actually got quite alarming when I received notification of despatch on 4th September, precisely a week before I was due to fly to Iceland with my girlfriend, for a relaxing break after she handed in her MSc thesis. This meant that there was a chance the package would arrive while we were away... and, knowing most couriers, that meant it might end up getting shipped back to China before I even returned home.

Notification that the package was out for delivery arrived the very day we were set to fly out... though there was no indication that delivery had actually been attempted when I checked the tracking later on.

However, while away, on a coach, out in the wilds of Iceland, I got a phone call from the courier, attempting to deliver. I explained that I was out of the country, and asked if delivery could be rescheduled for this week. He seemed to be OK with that, but couldn't offer anything concrete, so I later visited the courier's website to look for my options. Finding nothing, I contacted their UK Customer Service department via email, explaining the situation and asking again for delivery to be rescheduled to anytime this week. They emailed back to confirm that was all OK, and that they'd flag my package for delivery in the week commencing 15th September.

However, the following day - as Courtney and I were on our way back to the airport - I got another call, from another courier. When I explained that I was still out of the country, but due back later that day and that I believed that I'd arranged for delivery to happen another day, this one said he could see that my package had been flagged for redelivery, but that no date had been specified... and he pretty much insisted on making the delivery there and then, leaving it with a neighbour.

Thankfully, it all worked out... but I dropped the Customer Service department another email to say that someone hadn't received the memo about holding the package for a day or two before attempting another delivery, and have yet to see any response from them.

So, super-fast delivery from Show.Z Store - this package probably cleared UK Customs at Heathrow quicker than I did - if somewhat nerve-wracking in its final stages. Not Show.Z's fault at all, but I'll be certain to avoid ordering from them - or any other overseas vendor, for that matter - anywhere near a holiday, and potentially avoid pre-ordering entirely, as far as is practical.

Cybertron Primus

Here, finally, we have the last of my ancient Draft posts for this blog, now with the advantage of sparkly new photos because the originals (taken in February 2011!) had the same busy background of shelves that all the other images from that era had. Looking back, it's kind of bizarre that it's taken me more than 14 full years to complete this post considering Primus is such a significant figure in TransFormers lore and, in the Cybertron/Galaxy Force continuity amongst others, literally the home planet of the TransFormers.

Given the struggles Hasbro/Takara Tomy had in creating a reasonably convincing Unicron figure for the Armada toyline, one would think they'd have second thoughts about another toy that transformed into a planet. However, idea that Primus - Simon Furman's supposed 'God' of Cybertron - actually transformed into the planet Cybertron itself was clearly too tempting to pass on. There are plenty of other things he could have been instead, if they'd thought about it and, given the average fan reaction at the time to large plastic robots that transform into imperfect spheres, a bit of imagination probably would have been appreciated by many. After all, this was a character who had never before been clearly or definitively depicted in any of the associated media (the weird, Rodimus Prime-inspired version from the 1980s Marvel comics doesn't really count). That said, one can't argue with the dramatic power of a planet that transforms into a colossal robot...

Also, when Galaxy Force/Cybertron rolled around, Unicron had become a black hole (in the TV show) and a tank-thing resembling The Ark from G1 (in the Hasbro toyline), and the revelation of Primus became a plot point, so it was pretty much inevitable that he'd appear in some form.

So, with a still semi-recent, colossal Legacy Unicron toy thanks to the HasLab crowdfunding scheme and a smaller Third Party rival already available, let's - finally! - take a look at the second TransFormers planetformer Hasbro actually released. The only real question was whether the design and engineering teams had learned the right lessons from the reception of Armada Unicron...

Trying A New Webshop - AKA Not An Unboxing Post VIII

So, while most online retailers - including Hasbro Pulse - are listing the likes of KSI Widow and TFOne Elita-1 as preorders, expected in the next month or so, I learned that a Northamptonshire-based retailer by the name of The Whole Shebang already had both in stock.

Better still, where some other retailers have imported stock of yet-to-be-released figures and - quite reasonably - sold them at a markup, these were going for the expected RRP of about £25 each. I'll get into whether or not almost £50 for these two was money well spent when I do their individual write-ups, but I'll say for now that The Whole Shebang has impressed me: not only was despatch very fast (ordered on the evening of 26th, notification of despatch came at lunchtime the following day), each box was individually wrapped in bubblewrap, with the sturdy enclosing box further padded with packing paper. I also liked that the box was sent via Royal Mail, given the distinctly variable service I've received from couriers like DPD, Yodel and Evri. My local postman is an absolute treasure, so I know anything coming in the post will get to me in good condition.

Revenge of the Fallen Ransack

It's often said that aircraft don't make for good vehicle modes for TransFormers toys... and with evidence running from G1 Silverbolt to the very latest incarnation of that same character in the Age of the Primes toyline, and even the Masterpiece version of movie Starscream, it's hard to deny. However, there have been rare treats, such as Generations/Reveal the Shield Lugnut, and Third Party companies have worked wonders with movieverse designs, let alone their own unique creations.

So, where goes Ransack fall on this spectrum of achievements? Buckle up, flybots... we're in for a wild ride!

Holiday/Birthday Haul

Since I'm now working full time again, Courtney and I took advantage of our respective paid annual leave to get out of town for my birthday this year. We settled on Eastbourne, because I like cheesy coastal resorts, and Eastbourne has a good reputation. The trip itself was only for three nights - heading down on the Monday of my birthday, returning on the Thursday - and, for once, we didn't meticulously plan a full itinerary in advance, because the idea was to relax.

Weather permitting, we were aiming to spend a lot of the time just on the beach, walking along the coast, and unplugging. I had a handful of recommendations for eateries in the area, and had looked up a few shops that were potentially of interest to someone of my collecting habits, but these were all secondary to just chilling out... at least as far as the UK heatwave would permit.

We didn't get to all the shops I'd flagged, but I did manage to pick up a couple of interesting items:

Neither are toys that I was particularly keen to obtain. The Blockees figures all seem weirdly-proportioned to me, and the whole Legacy toyline was a disaster as far as I'm concerned... But Beast Wars reboot Antagony was being sold at a discount and, as a Femme-Bot, was of (marginally) greater interest to me than the Inferno mold she re-uses.

Neither have changed my mind about their respective lines - I certainly don't see myself buying any more Blockees, despite them being pretty decent, simple model kits with light-up parts, but I have already ordered the Antagony upgrade kit which - sadly - turns her into a non-transforming action figure, albeit one that looks far better than Hasbro's stock lazy repaint.

Studio Series #117 Hatchet

It's at least somewhat rare these days that I buy a figure knowing it's going to be shit. Particularly over the last couple of years, as Hasbro's QC is consistently found to be going down the toilet. When they take seven years to complete a set of characters from a movie that came out fourteen years ago, and balls it up not once (SS Crankcase using the SS Crowbar mold rather than TLK Berserker, despite having identical vehicle modes) but twice (as we're about to find out), one has to wonder if the delayed Hatchet precisely because they knew it was shit.

And, in all honesty, I wasn't really intending to buy Hatchet. As far as I'm concerned, Studio Series has devolved in exactly the same way as every other TransFormers line from Hasbro: its core idea - the most screen-accurate 'bots created using final CGI models as the basis - is no longer the foundation of the line, QC and material quality have taken a nosedive, and paintwork has been reduced significantly.

But... As with the Seekers, I felt a compulsion to complete the Dreads at the same scale and so picked him up at the MCM London Comic Con last month. The basis for the compulsion was largely that, while the original 'Commander class' DotM Hatchet toy was very cool for its size, the jet mode really made no sense. So, let's take a look at Studio Series Hatchet. It can't be that bad, surely?

Masterpiece Movie Series MPM-14 Bonecrusher

Considering its humbly-priced and thoroughly impressive beginnings, the Masterpiece line has grown to become - in my opinion - one of the most egregiously overpriced lines in the TransFormers franchise. This is particularly notable in the Masterpiece Movie subline where, at first glance, many of the figures appear to be only small upgrades on the quality of Leader Class toys circa Revenge of the Fallen.

Such was my opinion, at least, when MPM-13 Blackout emerged four years after the excellent Studio Series figure looking similarly underpainted and, in some ways, substantially less accurate, while MPM-4 Optimus Prime, which appeared a full eight years after the Leader class RotF toy, was marred by ill-fitting parts that didn't sit flush until the improved knockoffs appeared some time later. Similarly, having bought Studio Series Bonecrusher, I sold off my original Deluxe class toy, and the prospect of what looked like a sorely underpainted 'Masterpiece' enlargement just didn't appeal.

So, why do I have this now? Well, there are two reasons. First and foremost, MPM-15 Brawl appeared, looking like a substantial improvement on the rather cool Leader class toy from 2007, which got lost by the courier when I tried to sell it on a few years ago, and I was keen to get some form of replacement for him (albeit possibly a KO because, however good it is, it ain't worth £165!), since that had been the only version of movie Brawl I'd bought. This was enough to somewhat rekindle my interest in MPM, generally. Secondly... Game started selling Bonecrusher at half price sometime last year, and still had it in stock when, having started a new full-time job toward the end of January, my first full-month's paycheck arrived in my bank account at the end of February.

So, does slashing the price by half make this a worthwhile purchase? Stick with me, gentle reader, and we'll find out.

That Feeling When...

When I posted about Human Alliance Skids, back at the end of 2023, I was fairly sure that was the last figure from the Revenge of the Fallen toyline that I had left to write about. In the last couple of days, I have come to realise that I was wrong.

Pretty much front and centre one one of my Live Action Movie toys shelves - admittedly one mainly occupied by Studio Series figures - was the 2009 Deluxe class toy, Ransack... A Decepticon who turns into a biplane, in reference to one of the photos Simmons shows Sam and co. in Revenge of the Fallen.

For most of my collection, I remember taking photos - whether those be the final, published photos or a set that I wound up replacing later - but I swiftly realised that I had no recollection whatsoever of photographing Ransack... Just in case, I checked through the tags for this blog and, sure enough, there are only two Ransacks, neither of which are the RotF version.

Likewise, I checked through my photo folders and found nothing for Ransack under Live Action Movies/Revenge of the Fallen.

So... that's another figure on the list of outstanding posts from 15 years ago...

APC Toys Destruction Galaxy Mob Air General

I think I've already indicated that I'm a huge fan of the TransFormers Prime Vehicon mold (the RiD version, at least - I have yet to handle the First Edition version, but I believe it's broadly inferior). Not only did I end up buying three copies of the ground Vehicons, but I ended up getting the TransFormers Adventure Ground Vehicon General (accidentally) as well. Even today, I'm impressed by the way it transforms in that, while it's technically a shellformer, it does more with its shell than simply collect it on its back.

Then there's the Jet Vehicon, which is essentially the same, but with wings which... end up on its back. Nevertheless, I bought the Arms Micron version of that (just the one, but after buying the Cyberverse scale toy, which was the only version made available in the UK), and wanted to buy the Jet Vehicon General/Ace as well, because it gave me a valid excuse to buy, essentially, a fifth instance of the same toy. However, once again, the only version available in the UK was the Cyberverse one... which, while cute, didn't quite scratch the itch. The Deluxe class toy, unsurprisingly, proved more elusive than the standard Jet Vehicon, coming in the final selection of Arms Micron toys.

So, props to APC Toys - who already impressed me with the Airachnid garage kit they mass-produced - for not only remaking the standard Vehicons, but also the Generals/Aces... and the upgraded paintwork made this one an absolute must-have. I added it to my Christmas/Birthday list shortly after it became available, and my sister ordered it as my Christmas present last year.

Bottom line, though, this is essentially the fourth iteration of the Deluxe class mold that I've owned so, for a more detailed assessment, look at one of the previous write-ups.

Masterpiece On Clearance - AKA Not An Unboxing Post VII

I learned a few years back that Game carry TransFormers toys and then, toward the end of last year, that they'd reduced the price of MPM-14. In fact, they'd cut the price to half their original price, offering him for just £88.

By and large, I feel that the Masterpiece line has been egregiously overpriced for years now, and the reduced price still felt a little steep. I'm certainly not intending to pay full price for MPM Blackout or Brawl (and may in fact pick up a KO of one or the other... or both)... but I got back into gainful employment back in January, and felt the need to treat myself, so I ordered him on a bit of a whim.

I was at work when it was delivered, and Courtney messaged me to say it had arrived... and that it was a big box, but felt surprisingly light. That didn't bode well, but I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised when I got my hands on him.

Proper write-up to follow soon (hopefully), but here's the box and a meme, just for funsies.

A Recommendation and a Question

I'm not generally inclined to make direct recommendations here - links over on the side are as much for my own convenience as to suggest further reading to visitors - but I recently had a video from the YouTube channel Valaverse pop up in my feed, and found it quite fascinating. It seems as though the guy behind the channel is a former Hasbro toy designer who - along the same lines as the folks from Boss Fight Studios - decided to take a big risk and go it alone. Rather than create a wholly unique action figure toyline (and then let it stagnate, its most interesting concepts left unexplored, while churning out licensed products left, right and centre) he purchased the license to 'Action Force' (which is what the smaller GI Joe toys were originally called in the UK, being a spin-off of the larger format 'Action Man') and produce his own characters, costumes and accessories for that.

TransFormers Legacy: Evolution Deadeye Duel 2-pack - Kaskade vs. Javelin

(Femme-Bot Friday #87)

It struck me in the afternoon of January 1st that, as of this year - and, more specifically, yesterday - Femme-Bot Friday has been a feature of this blog for ten years. That being the case, I thought it appropriate to try to post something special... which might have been easier if the franchise had offered a greater quantity of worthwhile Femme-Bots. It would have been wonderful to hit FBF#100 for this anniversary, but that could only be achieved by re-posting Femme-Bots that I'd posted about before FBF became a thing.

And, while it would have been ideal to celebrate 10 years since I kicked off this feature with a post about Flame Toys' Arcee model kit, I haven't yet taken sufficient photos for that figure (lack of time, motivation and daylight over the last few months being largely responsible), so we're just going to have to make do with a Legacy: Evolution versus set that - miraculously - pits two unique Femme-Bots against each other. Little did I know, before I started writing all this, but this set actually refers to a specific story in the IDW comics, though the two featured characters don't exactly face off.

Is this unprecedented boxed set worth the investment? Well... That's an especially astute question, given my opinion of Hasbro's current output...